Mud Moor not Turf Moor
Just watching Match of the Day on BBC1 and it would appear that Turf is in short supply at Turf Moor.
The Flat in St. John’s Wood
St. John’s Wood it may have been, but then it was on the fourth floor with no lift. And we had three small children.
Townshend Court, St. John's Wood
It does look as if they’ve improved the block.
Primrose Hill
When we lived in St. John’s Wood, we used to go to Primrose Hill a lot. There is the hill itself and also the area that sits between the bridge over the West Coast Main Line out of Euston, the hill and Regent’s Park.
West Coast Main Line from Regent's Park Road
Note the tower blocks behind the railway. Our doctor was in one of those towers, but which one I don’t know.
The bridge has been painted as long as I can remember. This is the south side.
Regent's Park Road Bridge, South Side
And this is the north.
Regent's Park Road Bridge, North Side
These paintings were done in 2007.
I wandered around the area, found that some of our friends were still about after nearly forty years and took a picture of the old Mustoe Bistro.
Where was Mustoe Bistro?
Sadly, it is now a shop selling up market bric-a-brac. I’d much prefer Edward’s simple fare and interesting chat.
I then walked to the top of the hill on my way to St. John’s Wood.
The View from Primrose Hill
On to Chalk Farm
I had intended to go to Hampstead using the North London Line from Highbury and Islington station. But that line is closed for a few month for an upgrade, so I decided to take the Victoria and Northern lines instead. But I changed my mind and instead of going all the way to Hampstead, I got off the tube at Chalk Farm.
Chalk Farm Station
I’d used this station many times, as in the early seventies I’d commuted from our fourth-floor walk-up flat in St. John’s Wood to ICI Plastics Division at Welwyn Garden City, by walking to Chalk Farm and then going to Kings Cross to get the train. It was actually a pleasant commute, as I was going the wrong way most of the time.
Some things never change and Marine Ices is still there.
Marine Ices, Chalk Farm
The shop was one of the pleasures of when we lived in the area.
And then there is The Roundhouse.
The Roundhouse
I went there for a coffee. It was good.
But it wasn’t the first time that I’d been there. I’d seen a couple of shows over the years at the venue, including the amazing de la Guarda.
But I do have one very bad memory of Chalk Farm. It was there that I was stopped by the police whilst driving a wreck of a Triumph Herald that I bought that I really shouldn’t have bought. I remember parking it on this road here before I got it towed to the dump.
Regents Park Road, Chalk Farm
It was all different then in 1971 or so, with no flats and no parking restrictions.
Street Art in Dalston
This mural is at Dalston Junction, where the Balls Pond Road meets Kingsland Road.
Street Art, Dalston Junction
Appropriately, it is by the old Reeves offices and factory.
Reeves Offices in Dalston
This was probably the place where my mother worked before she got married. I’m not too sure what she did, but I think she worked in accounts or wages, although I do know that worked a comptometer. I can remember her telling me that you used to do division, by multiplying by the reciprocals. She still knew her reciprocals many years later.
Reeves Offices in Dalston
As befits a company, whose business has been art for nearly 250 years, the details are very much in keeping.
Another twist in this area, is that my grandmother, who my mother always said thought herself terribly posh, was born round the corner in the Balls Pond Road. It’s going back up again!
Would You Want One, Let Alone Two?
I saw this set in a shop window by Dalston Junction Station.
Would You Buy One, Let Alone Two?
I obviously, don’t understand style.
Along the East London Line Embankment
From Shoreditch High Street Station to Dalston Junction, the line runs on the North London Railway embankment. I followed this by a mixture of walking and buses.
Here are some pictures.
The stations seem to need some finishing work, but judging by the number of busy workers in orange vests, I suspect they have things under control.
Not like the Cambridge Busway!
Note the pictures of the Geffrye Museum. The gardens of the museums are being landscaped. Is this in readiness for the opening of Hoxton Station on the East London Line, which is just behind the museum.
If it is, this is good joined-up thinking.
Not like the Cambridge Busway!
Shoreditch High Street on the East London Line
The East London Line will have a station on Shoreditch High Street, just before it turns north to follow the embankment of the old North London Railway that terminated in Broad Street Station to the west of Liverpool Street Station.
These are some pictures from around the station and Shoreditch High Street.
There was a movement to call Shoreditch High Street Station, Banglatown. But then the area has been home to Jews and Huguenots before being colonised by the Bangladeshis.
Who will inhabit this area in thirty years time?
Spitalfields City Farm
On Buxton Street is Spitalfields City Farm.
This is a wonderful venture that must on the one hand be visited and on the other supported financially and by voluteers.
Here are some pictures.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.
From Whitechapel to Brick Lane
It was a pleasant day compared to some we’ve had lately and I quite enjoyed the walk on surprising quiet and clean streets as I walked down Vallance Road and down Buxton Street to Brick Lane.
These are some pictures of the new East London Line.
Note that the GE19 bridge was the one that fell slightly on installation. There are some more pictures on this London Connections Blog.
On Buxton Road, there is the Spitalfields City Farm. That is a separate post and gallery.
The Anonymous Widower 